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Text: Frenquently asked questions
There are 3 categories of questions asked abot negotiating skills: price, procedures and people.
1) FAQs about price
- Should I ever state my acceptable range?
I shouldn't completely answer it, otherwise it would reveal my reservation price. To discourage the other side to push me beyond it I can tell a range at the end.
- Should I ever tell the other side my real bottom line?
I can reveal my bottom line only when I have reached it or am about to.
- If the other side opens with an unreasonable offer, should I counter with an equally unreasonable offer or decline to counter at all?
You have 3 options: make a joke to shoy that I don't take the offer seriously, tell the other negotiator that I have thought about another range of numbers and explain my perspective on the deal, or tell him that the offer is out of range for me and the deal may not be possible.
2) FAQs about process
- Is it ever acceptable to bid against myself to make two moves in a row?
Only if I'm stucked and have to move again to make the negotiation go futher, and I should tell I'm aware of that when doing it.
- Is it smart or fair to bluff?
Bluffing is ok, but lying about facts isn't. I should better tell about my achievments in a positive view.
- In a complex deal, is it better to reach agreement issue by issue or wait until the end ?
It is often better to aim for tentative agreements one issue at a time.
- Is it better to deal with difficult or easy issues first ?
Start with the most difficult issues is better to talk about the smaller, easiest, issues after. If the 2 parties can't reach to an agreement, having spoke about the smaller issues first was a waste of time.
- What if there is an unexpected turn in the road before or after an agreement ?
Unexpected developments can endanger potential deals and undermine already made agreements. I should analyse how they can affect the decision and decide if a deal worth to be done.
3) FAQs About People Problems
- What happened when you pit a collaborative negotiator against a positional hard bargainer ?
A positional baragainers has as a goal to win the other side's expense and will expect all the compromises to come from the other party. If he refuses to be cooperative, a win-win proposition is not likely to come from his side.
- How should I respond if the other side seeks to change something in its offer after a deal has been reached ?
Recurring situation: after reaching to an agreement, negotiators think they could have gotten more. If the other tries to change something, I should show surprise/disappointment in that case.
- What should I do when the negotiator on the other side has a temper tantrum ?
Instead of respond, I should hep him to regan control, for example by sitting quietly or stopping the negotiation and say that it is getting nowhere.
- I don’t believe what the other side is saying. What should I do ?
I can require back-up documentation, insist on enforcement mechanisms (ex: penalty for non-compliance) and make sure that the agreement is predicated on their truthful representation of the situation.
- When, if ever, is it appropriate to negotiate over the telephone or by e-mail ? Or is it essential to insist on a face-to-face meeting ?
It is better to negotiate face to face when personal parameters matter. Plus, people are less likely to lie in person. Another argument in favor of face-to-face meeting: written messages (like e-mails) are subjects of interpretation and can lead to misunderstandings. Phone is better in this perspective.
- How should I react when the other side challenges my credentials, status or authority to make a deal ?
The discussion has to be framed by general rules. I should ignore attacks to my authority.
There are 3 categories of questions asked abot negotiating skills: price, procedures and people.
1) FAQs about price
- Should I ever state my acceptable range?
I shouldn't completely answer it, otherwise it would reveal my reservation price. To discourage the other side to push me beyond it I can tell a range at the end.
- Should I ever tell the other side my real bottom line?
I can reveal my bottom line only when I have reached it or am about to.
- If the other side opens with an unreasonable offer, should I counter with an equally unreasonable offer or decline to counter at all?
You have 3 options: make a joke to shoy that I don't take the offer seriously, tell the other negotiator that I have thought about another range of numbers and explain my perspective on the deal, or tell him that the offer is out of range for me and the deal may not be possible.
2) FAQs about process
- Is it ever acceptable to bid against myself to make two moves in a row?
Only if I'm stucked and have to move again to make the negotiation go futher, and I should tell I'm aware of that when doing it.
- Is it smart or fair to bluff?
Bluffing is ok, but lying about facts isn't. I should better tell about my achievments in a positive view.
- In a complex deal, is it better to reach agreement issue by issue or wait until the end ?
It is often better to aim for tentative agreements one issue at a time.
- Is it better to deal with difficult or easy issues first ?
Start with the most difficult issues is better to talk about the smaller, easiest, issues after. If the 2 parties can't reach to an agreement, having spoke about the smaller issues first was a waste of time.
- What if there is an unexpected turn in the road before or after an agreement ?
Unexpected developments can endanger potential deals and undermine already made agreements. I should analyse how they can affect the decision and decide if a deal worth to be done.
3) FAQs About People Problems
- What happened when you pit a collaborative negotiator against a positional hard bargainer ?
A positional baragainers has as a goal to win the other side's expense and will expect all the compromises to come from the other party. If he refuses to be cooperative, a win-win proposition is not likely to come from his side.
- How should I respond if the other side seeks to change something in its offer after a deal has been reached ?
Recurring situation: after reaching to an agreement, negotiators think they could have gotten more. If the other tries to change something, I should show surprise/disappointment in that case.
- What should I do when the negotiator on the other side has a temper tantrum ?
Instead of respond, I should hep him to regan control, for example by sitting quietly or stopping the negotiation and say that it is getting nowhere.
- I don’t believe what the other side is saying. What should I do ?
I can require back-up documentation, insist on enforcement mechanisms (ex: penalty for non-compliance) and make sure that the agreement is predicated on their truthful representation of the situation.
- When, if ever, is it appropriate to negotiate over the telephone or by e-mail ? Or is it essential to insist on a face-to-face meeting ?
It is better to negotiate face to face when personal parameters matter. Plus, people are less likely to lie in person. Another argument in favor of face-to-face meeting: written messages (like e-mails) are subjects of interpretation and can lead to misunderstandings. Phone is better in this perspective.
- How should I react when the other side challenges my credentials, status or authority to make a deal ?
The discussion has to be framed by general rules. I should ignore attacks to my authority.
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